Increased language co-activation leads to enhanced cross-linguistic phonetic convergence
dc.contributor.author | Simonet, Miquel | |
dc.contributor.author | Amengual, Mark | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-05-19T21:30:29Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-05-19T21:30:29Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-04 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Simonet, M., & Amengual, M. (2020). Increased language co-activation leads to enhanced cross-linguistic phonetic convergence. International Journal of Bilingualism, 24(2), 208–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006919826388 | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 1367-0069 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1177/1367006919826388 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10150/641342 | |
dc.description.abstract | Purpose: This study investigates the effects of bilingual language modes (or settings) on the speech production patterns of a group of early Catalan/Spanish bilinguals from Majorca, Spain. Our main research question was as follows: Are bilingual speech patterns modulated by the level of (co-)activation of a bilingual’s two languages? Design: Bilingual participants were classified as a function of their linguistic experience (or dominance), from Catalan- to Spanish-dominant. Subsequently, we recorded their speech in two experimental settings: a unilingual setting in which only Catalan words were uttered, and a bilingual setting in which both Catalan and Spanish words (cognates) were produced in random order. Data and Analysis: The study examined the acoustic realization of Spanish and Catalan unstressed /a/, which surfaces as [a] in Spanish but is reduced to schwa, [ə], in Catalan. The acoustic characteristics of unstressed /a/ were explored across the two languages and the two experimental settings. Findings: Catalan unstressed /a/, which was similarly reduced to schwa in the speech of all participants, became slightly more similar to Spanish unstressed /a/ (i.e., it had a higher first formant) when produced alongside Spanish words (bilingual setting) than when produced in a Catalan unilingual setting. There were no effects of linguistic experience, and the effects of setting did not interact with experience. Originality: Very few studies have reported effects of dynamic cross-linguistic interference in phonetic production, and even fewer have reported them with a phonetic variable resulting from a language-specific phonological process (unstressed vowel reduction) rather than a phonemic contrast. Implications: These findings suggest that cross-linguistic interaction is dynamic and modulated by language activation, and that an absence of dominance effects does not necessarily entail an absence of online cross-linguistic phonetic influence. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD | en_US |
dc.rights | © The Author(s) 2019 | en_US |
dc.rights.uri | http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license | en_US |
dc.subject | Phonetics | en_US |
dc.subject | cross-linguistic influence | en_US |
dc.subject | unstressed vowel reduction | en_US |
dc.subject | bilingual language modes | en_US |
dc.subject | Catalan | en_US |
dc.subject | Spanish | en_US |
dc.title | Increased language co-activation leads to enhanced cross-linguistic phonetic convergence | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1756-6878 | |
dc.contributor.department | Univ Arizona, Spanish & Appl Linguist | en_US |
dc.identifier.journal | INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUALISM | en_US |
dc.description.collectioninformation | This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu. | en_US |
dc.eprint.version | Final accepted manuscript | en_US |
dc.source.journaltitle | International Journal of Bilingualism | |
dc.source.volume | 24 | |
dc.source.issue | 2 | |
dc.source.beginpage | 208 | |
dc.source.endpage | 221 | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2020-05-19T21:30:31Z |